No facial fractures for Max Stassi

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Rookie catcher Max Stassi, who was hit in the face with a pitch Wednesday night in Arlington, flew to Houston with his father Jim on Thursday to undergo concussion tests.

Stassi spent the night at the Medical Center of Arlington, where X-Rays and a CAT scan revealed no facial fractures.

“We were relieved because looking at it live it seemed like it might be worse,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “He was fortunate that there’s no fracture. Obviously any time there’s a blow to the head you have to be careful.”

Jim Stassi, who coached Max at Yuba City (Calif.) High, had flown to Arlington on Tuesday to watch his son make his major league debut.

With the bases loaded in the eighth inning at Rangers Ballpark, Stassi was hit in his nose and mouth after Rangers reliever Tanner Scheppers drilled Stassi with a fastball. Fortunately for Stassi, he turned away from the pitch and took the initial brunt of the blow on his shoulder. He never made it to first base after collecting his first major league RBI.

“That is a very painful way to get your first RBI,” manager Bo Porter said.

As Porter said on Wednesday night, Luhnow said the injury might have been worse if the ball had not hit Stassi’s shoulder first. Called up after backup catcher Carlos Corporan suffered a concussion on Monday night against the Rangers, Stassi made his debut on Tuesday night. He played his first two games in the majors as the Astros’ designated hitter. He was expected to catch in the majors for the first time during the three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend at Minute Maid Park.

Stassi, 22, was added to the 40-man roster on Tuesday. All-Star Jason Castro, Corporan and Stassi are the only three catchers on the Astros’ 40-man roster. Luhnow said the team will likely wait until Friday to decide if another catcher must be called up.

The Astros currently have 39 players on their 40-man roster, so they have a spot available if they need to call another player up.